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The Pompeian Manufacturing Company : Original Billhead and Typed Letter - The Pompeian Manufacturing Company, Cleveland, Ohio

Original billhead and typed letter on beige paper with printed and typed text in dark blue ink. Letter is datelined January 15, 1903 at 96 Prospect Street, Cleveland, Ohio. Order form also has the same address but is undated (has a blank fill-in date between 1900 and 1909). Order form measures 8 1/4" x 7." Letter measures 8 1/2" x 11." Billhead and letter are very clean and intact overall. Each has a few fold lines (perhaps original) with slight wrinkling. Center of billhead and lower edge of letter have slight browning. The billhead has a minuscule hole (likely from a pin) that barely affects text. All portions of the billhead and letter are typed or printed with no handwriting except for a few small corrections and annotations in black ink on the letter. The following is the letterhead of both the billhead and letter: "The Pompeian Mfg. Co., Manufacturers of Pompeian Massage Cream and Skin Food and Massage Soap, Medicinal and Toilet." Each also shows two illustrations of the company's famous Pompeian Massage Cream and accompanying Complexion Bulb that "can be used to advantage in connection with the Cream for Facial Massage." The billhead lists the prices and specifications of the company's products available for purchase including the Massage Cream, Pompeian Massage Soap, and the Complexion Bulbs. The billhead was presumably mailed with the letter, which is addressed to W. E. Bard Drug Co. in Sedalia, Missouri. The company writes, "Gentlemen:- We are in receipt of your Mr. Bards' favor of the 9th inst. requesting quotation on our Pompeian Massage Cream, and in answer beg to enclose one of our blank invoices which will give you a perfect description of our line of goods and the list price on each." The bottom of the letter shows a very small facsimile of another letter addressed from the Pullman Company to F. W. Stecher, the inventor of Pompeian Massage Cream and the founder of the Pompeian Manufacturing Company. Fred W. Stecher invented Pompeian Massage Cream and Skin Food in 1901 as a type of aftershave cream with an exfoliating effect. The Pompeian Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1905. Scientific knowledge at the time thought the skin more porous and receptive to nutrients than it is known today, hence the name, "Skin Food." Around 1909, the name "Skin Food" was phased out and the cream was soon promoted as a facial cleanser. The cream was a bright pink, casein-based product, which likely got its coloration from carmine. The color of the facial cream may have been a factor in the product being readily adopted by women because it could be used as a rouge. The Pompeian Manufacturing Company quickly adjusted and began to market its products toward both men and women. Over the years, the Pompeian Manufacturing Company expanded its product line and changed ownership several times. Among the different owners were Colgate & Company, Palmolive-Peet, and Laco Products, Incorporated. After a company called Divex, Incorporated bought out Laco Products in 1967, the manufacture of Pompeian cosmetics appears to have stopped. The last documented product for sale was Pompeian Milk Massage Cream.. Ephemera. Book Condition: Collectible-Very Good. Binding: No Binding

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